Batman: Year One, DCAU-style
Okay, we all know how much I love the Nolan Batfilms. I am beyond stoked for The Dark Knight Rises and beyond grateful for the ways in which Batman's film incarnation has been redeemed over the past few years.
But, there is a special place in my heart for DCAU Batman. He was my first Bats, and will always be my favorite. My brother and both fell in love with him as kids by way of the Saturday morning Batman/Superman Adventures (OMG do you remember how AWESOME THE INTRO WAS God bless YouTube, I was obsessed with that music!).
Anyway. DCAU Bats has been through many incarnations himself, but I think what makes him kinda special is the fact that one way or another, the same people have been working on him for decades. Yes, they've brought in new voice casts lately, yes the animation style has evolved through the years, and yes, lots of different people have been involved with the various animated productions. But somehow Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, and the rest of the crew have been supervising, producing, writing, etc. And their Batman is just such a pure, condensed representation of the legend.
The animated films that have come out since the series bit the dust have been largely hit-and-miss, but I've appreciated how the creative team has constantly changed things up and experimented with different styles. They've been mining a lot of famous comic arcs and lore of late, as if to say: "Hey, nobody else gets to do this stuff. Why don't we?" And, bless them, Warner Bros Animation keeps letting them do it. They know these little movies go a long way with the fans, so they let them happen and let them get rated PG-13 and all that happy jazz. Batman: Under the Red Hood was amazing for my money, mostly because it was so thematically spot-on with how Batman lives, moves, and has his being. (That speech he makes at the end to Jason: PERFECT. Every line of Joker's in that scene: PERFECT.)
Why am I rambling? Sorry. I'm excited because one of my favorite comic books ever, Batman: Year One, has been chosen for the next adaptation. I have read this thing dozens and dozens of times. I was minorly obsessed with it back before Batman Begins came out. The voice cast kicks ass and you can read all about that here, but what really has me flipping is THE ART DESIGN.
THAT IS MAZZUCCHELLI. omg. It's like ripped straight from the pages except... way more gorgeous. *STARES* Man, "we were able to refer to the comic for about 80 percent of the camera setups" IS NOT A LIE.
Okay, I'm done. Just needed to gush a bit. This thing comes out sometime in the fall and I am all over it, basically.
(The Miller/Mazzucchelli dream team also happen to be responsible for Daredevil: Born Again, aka My All-Time Favorite Superhero Arc. If only Marvel had an animation team half as talented and dedicated as DC's to bring that to life... gah!)
But, there is a special place in my heart for DCAU Batman. He was my first Bats, and will always be my favorite. My brother and both fell in love with him as kids by way of the Saturday morning Batman/Superman Adventures (OMG do you remember how AWESOME THE INTRO WAS God bless YouTube, I was obsessed with that music!).
Anyway. DCAU Bats has been through many incarnations himself, but I think what makes him kinda special is the fact that one way or another, the same people have been working on him for decades. Yes, they've brought in new voice casts lately, yes the animation style has evolved through the years, and yes, lots of different people have been involved with the various animated productions. But somehow Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, and the rest of the crew have been supervising, producing, writing, etc. And their Batman is just such a pure, condensed representation of the legend.
The animated films that have come out since the series bit the dust have been largely hit-and-miss, but I've appreciated how the creative team has constantly changed things up and experimented with different styles. They've been mining a lot of famous comic arcs and lore of late, as if to say: "Hey, nobody else gets to do this stuff. Why don't we?" And, bless them, Warner Bros Animation keeps letting them do it. They know these little movies go a long way with the fans, so they let them happen and let them get rated PG-13 and all that happy jazz. Batman: Under the Red Hood was amazing for my money, mostly because it was so thematically spot-on with how Batman lives, moves, and has his being. (That speech he makes at the end to Jason: PERFECT. Every line of Joker's in that scene: PERFECT.)
Why am I rambling? Sorry. I'm excited because one of my favorite comic books ever, Batman: Year One, has been chosen for the next adaptation. I have read this thing dozens and dozens of times. I was minorly obsessed with it back before Batman Begins came out. The voice cast kicks ass and you can read all about that here, but what really has me flipping is THE ART DESIGN.
THAT IS MAZZUCCHELLI. omg. It's like ripped straight from the pages except... way more gorgeous. *STARES* Man, "we were able to refer to the comic for about 80 percent of the camera setups" IS NOT A LIE.
Okay, I'm done. Just needed to gush a bit. This thing comes out sometime in the fall and I am all over it, basically.
(The Miller/Mazzucchelli dream team also happen to be responsible for Daredevil: Born Again, aka My All-Time Favorite Superhero Arc. If only Marvel had an animation team half as talented and dedicated as DC's to bring that to life... gah!)